Dave Allen Library

Dave Allen, who worked with Ruddlesden geotechnical for the last 10 years of his career, sadly passed away last year.

However, out of every darkness, there is light: he left his extensive personal library to us. As an avid reader and book collector, his library includes numerous books on mining and industrial archaeology in Cornwall and Devon, in particular, as well as many rare and old (some more than 150 years old) geological publications, covering all areas of the UK.

We have now catalogued all of the books and merged them with our own. The library totals more than 900 books and maps, with over 100 on mining in Cornwall alone!

Books are not for decoration; they are to be read and enjoyed. Dave wanted his books to be used.

If we just used them ourselves, we might only use 5% of them, so we would like to offer our library to others, who feel there might be something of use to them, i.e. to use our library like a public library, and borrow a book or two on a short- or long-term loan, or even just pop in for a cup of tea (or beer) and a browse.

If you would like a copy of the spreadsheet, cataloguing the library, please contact us directly.